Madness
by witbeyondmeasureXOX
Summary: Neville knew what he was in for, but how will he cope in his final year at Hogwarts with death eaters running the school? One thing is for certain, he's not going to stand and watch as his world around him spirals into utter madness. With the help of Ginny, and especially Luna, he can only hope that he can keep it together long enough to see sanity restored to the Wizarding World.
1. Prologue

***Disclaimer: I do not own Neville Longbottom or any characters featured in the Harry Potter series, although I wish I did and could stash them all in my closet :3 They are all from the mind of our queen J.K. Rowling.**

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**Prologue**

**_Neville_**

I vaguely remember hearing voices as I drifted back to consciousness in my hospital wing bed, but none of them seemed to make sense. The words all seemed disconnected as my brain tried piecing them together.

"_Dumbledore..."_

"_Snape... killed..._"

"_Death Eaters... gone..._"

The details from earlier that night were still a little hazy to me. I remember running down the hall towards the Astronomy Tower with Ron, Ginny and the members of the Order of the Phoenix who were on watch that night. Jets of light were flying in all directions as Death Eaters and defenders of Hogwarts fought. There was one tall, blonde Death Eater who was standing in the thick of the chaos, firing off curses like mad. I thank my lucky stars that Ginny shared some of that felix felicis potion Harry had given to her earlier that night, otherwise... who knows what would have happened.

The last thing I can remember from tonight is chasing after Malfoy and the gang of Death Eaters who were running up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower, and being thrown back by an invisible barrier blocking the foot of the stairs. I soared through the air, hitting the wall across from the stairs and crumpled to the floor. After that, everything is pretty foggy, although I think at one point Harry may have tripped over me, but I really can't remember.

I opened my eyes a fraction, then shut them back tight again. My head was still spinning quite a bit. There also seemed to be an argument going on at the other end of the ward, so I waited for the raised voices to die down a bit before attempting to open my eyes again. This time when my eyes opened, I managed to catch a glimpse of the other end of the ward from the corner of my eye before my heavy eyelids closed once more. There was a big group of people gathered around an occupied bed. Who was it? Who else had gotten hurt?

Then, all of a sudden, I heard the doors of the infirmary burst open.

"I've... I've done it, Professor." It was Hagrid who entered the ward. He sounded really choked up over something. "M-moved him. Professor Sprout's got the kids back in bed. Professor Flitwick's lyin' down, but he says he'll be all right in a jiffy, an' Professor Slughorn says the Ministry's bin informed."

'Thank you, Hagrid,' said a very tired sounding Professor McGonagall.

She then addressed the group of people that I had glimpsed earlier when I managed to sneak a peek of the other end of the Hospital Wing. They then had a brief discussion about something, but unfortunately I couldn't hear a word of it. Once Professor McGonagall was finished speaking, she hurried out of the room, along with the shuffling footsteps of others following behind her. The room then became very quiet.

"I'm very sorry Arthur," said a very familiar voice, "but I really must be going. Take care Molly. I hope for the best."

"Yes, I probably should get going too, Molly." This time, it was a woman's voice I heard. She sounded exhausted. 'I'm sure he will be alright. I'll see you again soon.'

Alright, now I really need to know what's going on. With that, I opened my eyes once again and saw my ex-Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin walking towards the Hospital Wing's doors. Behind him was a younger woman with mousy-brown hair. She caught up with him before reaching the door, took his hand, and then I swear that I saw her hair change to a vibrant bubblegum pink colour.

I tried turning my head over to the right to see who was there, but it hurt so much that I closed my eyes once more and groaned in agony. It was so painful to move, but there were too many questions whizzing around in my head that needed to be answered. It's now or never.

I slowly started to pull myself up into a sitting position on the bed, being very careful not to hurt myself. All was going well, that is until my hands slipped and I fell back awkwardly in the bed.

"Arghh!"

My head bumped into the headboard with a loud thump, but it was the rest of my body that was in excruciating pain. Madam Pomfrey came rushing over to my side and helped me to sit up.

"You should've waited for someone to help you! You were terribly hurt last night, my dear boy! Here, drink this," she said, handing me a vial of purple coloured potion. "It will make the pain go away."

I mumbled a thank you before she beetled off to tend to the other patient at the end of the ward, and then gulped it all down. It tasted awful and burned as it made its way down my throat. Moments later, it felt as if there was a fire in the pit of my stomach, and waves of heat were radiating throughout my body. Suddenly, the sensation stopped, and I was numb all over. It was almost an uncomfortable feeling, but I was just glad that it didn't hurt to move anymore.

I stretched out my legs and yawned. Everything felt so stiff from being in bed for so long. Before I had the chance to turn my head, someone at the end of the ward yelled 'Neville!'

Ginny came running down the aisle of the hospital wing and enveloped me in a big hug.

"How are you feeling?" she asked concerned. "You took a nasty hit last night, you've been unconscious for a couple of hours."

'"Yeah, I'm fine Ginny," I said straightening up in my bed, "but what about the others? Who else is hurt?"

Ginny hesitated, but then said softly "My brother, Bill. He was attacked by Fenrir Greyback, you know, the werewolf who's helping the Death Eaters. He wasn't transformed... but Lupin said he probably will have some wolfish tendencies."

"I'm so sorry." I said looking over at Mrs Weasley who was crying in her husband's chest, while Fleur Delacour stroked Bill's hair as tears fell from her blue eyes. I then looked back into Ginny's light brown eyes as she wiped a tear from her cheek.

"It's alright, I'm sure he'll be ok" she said turning to look out the window, but her eyes said otherwise. She seemed to be trying to convince herself rather than me.

Then there was a very awkward silence between us that. I knew Ginny was upset, but I didn't know exactly how to comfort her. Luckily I didn't have any time to make the situation more uncomfortable than it already was thanks to Ron.

"You're up mate!" he yelled.

"Ron, keep it down! You're in a hospital" Hermione snapped.

"Oh, right" said Ron, his ears turning red. "Sorry."

"Hello Neville," said a quiet, dreamy voice. Luna had drifted along behind Ron and Hermione. She had a scratch along her cheek, and her silvery blue eyes were tired and weary.

"Hi Luna," I said as the colour slowly returned to my cheeks.

"So how are you Neville?" Hermione asked.

"I'm pretty good. The potion Madam Pomfrey gave me was really helpful. I barely feel any pain, I just feel a little weak is all. Where's Harry?"

"He and McGonagall have gone to meet with the Heads of House to discuss what will happen to the school, seeing as Dumbledore's-" then she stopped speaking.

"What? What's happened to Dumbledore?"

"Well... he's dead, mate." Ron said quietly.

Silence spread throughout the room. All that could be heard was the sound of Madam Pomfrey scurrying around in her office, and Mrs Weasley sobbing quietly over her son's still form.

My thoughts kept revolving around the news that I had just taken in. Everything that I heard in my haze suddenly made sense, but I just couldn't accept it. Dumbledore can't be gone, but by the look of all the solemn faces surrounding me, I know it has to be true.

"My goodness... I don't understand. I mean, how?"

"Snape" said Ginny. "After you had been knocked out, Snape ran up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower where Malfoy and the gang of Death Eaters were with Dumbledore. Lupin tried to run after him, but he got flung back like you did."

"Yeah, he reckons only people with the Dark Mark could pass through" said Ron.

"Then, well... he killed him" Hermione said as tears slid down her cheeks. Ron then put his arm around her shoulder to comfort her. "And when Snape ran down, we did nothing. We thought he was on our side!" Hermione cried.

"It's alright Hermione, it wasn't our fault. Snape had us all fooled..." Ginny said softly.

Then all was quiet again. After all the violence that took place earlier that night, you'd think that silence would be a good thing, but when you're lying in a hospital bed with no hope left in you, you'd give anything for a Hippogriff to swoop into the room and carry you off . Luna's voice surprised us all when she disturbed the silence.

"Well, I think that if Dumbledore were here, he wouldn't want us to be sad and fret too much over what is to come." She said in her dream-like voice. "Perhaps instead of dwelling on what has happened, we should forget about our troubles for the while and remember the love that we had for him.'

"And how are we supposed to do that exactly, given everything that's happened?" Hermione asked a little cynically.

Fawkes the phoenix's song of lament echoed throughout the hospital wing as he soared in the dark sky, his cry emanating across the grounds of Hogwarts. I looked into Luna's piercingly silver eyes, searching for the answer to Hermione's question. How are we to just forget what dark times are ahead of us?

Luna half smiled, and then said "Well for a start, we still have each other, and right now I think that is all we need to at the least go on living."

She paused and looked at each of us. Hermione was now staring at her feet as Luna continued with a smile on her face.

"That's what Dumbledore would want, isn't it? Yes, I do believe that would make him very proud."

She was absolutely right, but sometimes things are easier said than done.

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**A/N: Hi! So this is my first ever Fanfiction story! I got the idea to write this 2 years ago when I was recovering from wisdom teeth extractions and suffering from Post-Potter Depression :3 I only got the courage to post it onto Fanfiction this Summer. The prologue may not be perfect, as I was 2 years younger than I am today when I actually wrote it, but hopefully I have improved since then and will be more religious about writing chapters, but I am starting college next week and It may be harder for me to find the time to write (I actually have 2 other chapters written, which I wrote over the course of the past 2 years... my goal doesn't look very promising, but I'll try my hardest!). So please review the story, I would really love to improve my writing ability, because I am very insecure about the process in general.**


	2. Chapter 1: No Turning Back

******Chapter 1: No Turning Back**

_**Even though I'll never know what's up ahead,**_

_**I'm never letting go,**_

_**I'm never letting go**_

_**-Alligator Sky (OWL CITY)**_

_**Neville**_

'_Here, let me help you up. I know somewhere where we can go and sit..."_

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"NEVILLE FRANCIS LONGBOTTOM! If you're not down those stairs in less than 5 minutes, I'm going to come up there and drag you down by the ears! It'simperative this year that we be there on time! Don't tell me you've left packing your trunk to the last minute! If I come up there and find..."

"Don't worry Gran, I'll be down soon!"

Oh God, Gran's going to kill me! All I have packed so far are a couple of school robes. I've got to stop daydreaming!

Normally I would be happy to be going back to Hogwarts, but this year was different. Well I suppose everything is different. Voldemort has control of the Ministry, muggleborns are being rounded up and brought in for questioning, and nowhere is safe. Not even Hogwarts is safe now that Snape is headmaster.

Scurrying, around my room, I picked up things and shoved them into my trunk. I packed my school books, a few knitted cardigans, some oddly coloured socks, _Goshawk's Guide to Herbology _( I could never leave home without it!), my set of gardening tools, a book Ginny gave me on the Chudley Cannons, and of course! How could I have possibly forgotten? Underwear! That would have been extremely awkward.

Now, which plant should I take? I know Gran said she would take care of them, but I don't trust that she would take proper care of my _Mimbulus mimbletonia_. I considered each pot that was on my window sill, but it was the last one on the row that caught my eye. It was a lovely arrangement of _fluxweed _and _moly_ that Luna had given me earlier this summer for my birthday. The beautiful contrast between the red _fluxweed_ and the deep blue of the _moly_ is incomparable with the rest of the plants in my possession. I have to take it!

Leaning up against the starry midnight blue flower pot they came in was a card. I picked it up and flipped it over to admire Luna's handiwork. On the cover, she had drawn a picture of me carrying my _Mimbulus mimbletonia_ using her incredible artistic talent. I don't know how she managed to do it, but it almost seemed like it was breathing.

I opened up the card and read the message inside.

**Happy Birthday Neville,**

**I hope you liked the moly and fluxweed. I know how much you appreciate Herbology and I remembered your fascination with fluxweed from last year.**

**Enjoy your first day of being of age!**

**With Love, from**

**_Luna _***

**P.S. Have the night humblers been giving you trouble lately?**

**Well, the moly should remedy that. They're very special, you know.**

I smiled.

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"_It really was a beautiful day for it" Luna said as we sat on the hill overlooking the Black Lake.  
_

"_Yeah, it really was" I sighed. My body still ached from the other night. Luna was being really kind to me though, visiting me in the hospital wing a few times and helping me walk down to the funeral._

_Staring dreamily out onto the Black Lake, she said, "I think Dumbledore would be very pleased."_

"_Hmm..." I said very softly. "I'm still finding it hard to believe he's really gone."_

"_My mum told me once that the dead never truly leave us. They're always around, sometimes you just need to know where to look."_

_Then she looked at me with those silver-blue eyes, as if trying to stare into my soul. It's uncanny how quickly she can make you feel uncomfortable. She then half smiled and lay down._

"_I come here often on my breaks," she said. "I find it rather peaceful. I like to lie down and watch the clouds role by and think of what they each look like. For example, I would say that one looks like a house elf attempting to break dance."_

_I chuckled and lay down aswell. "It sort of looks like Umbridge when she was trying to outrun the Weasleys' firework dragon."_

_Luna laughed too. Not hysterically, like she sometimes does, but it was genuine and light hearted. She looked over on the other side of her shoulder and stretched out her hand to touch the petals of a pretty white flower on the ground. The hill was covered in them._

"_I do love these flowers."_

"_They're _moly_. It's actually a plant that protects against dark enchantments. A bit ironic, don't you think, given all that's happened?" I frowned._

"_Yes, I believe we've used them before in potions class to make wigenweld potion, but they weren't nearly as pretty" she frowned. "In fact, they were brown and shrivelled."_

"_Maybe they become more potent that way. They're used in the wigenweld potion because they counteract enchantments. Neat huh?"_

"_Hmm..." she said, as if caught in a daydream._

"_I'm sorry," I said shyly as heat started to creep up my neck. "I must be boring you."_

"_Not at all" she said. "I was just remembering that Mum used to experiment with these flowers when I was younger. She discovered that their chemical composition was very similar to that of the _farntael_ plant found deep within the Amazon Rain Forest, which has been proven to ward away night humblers."_

"_Night humblers?" I asked perplexed._

"_They're tiny little creatures that hop in your ears at night and give you nightmares. My room was infested with them at the time and they are near impossible to eradicate, because they are so tiny that they cannot be seen by the naked eye, so mum tried altering the chemical composition of _moly _with magic. She was successful in doing so, although the flowers had somehow turned blue. She then planted some in the garden and gave me a pot of them to keep beside my bed. I haven't had a nightmare since" she smiled. _

"_Wow, that's brilliant!" I'm not quite sure if there really is such a thing as a night humbler, but this new species of _moly_ sounded fascinating. _

"_My dad wrote an article about it in the Quibbler a long time ago. My mum called it _Dulcisnocte lunae_, after me. I could send you a copy."_

"_I'd love to read it!" I said enthusiastically while sitting up. "I've been wondering for a while, do you reckon there's really a giant squid in the Black Lake?"_

"_Oh, there definitely is!" she said eagerly as she sat up as well. "I saw him once from Ravenclaw tower when I was having difficulties falling asleep. I think his name is Odysseus."_

_I smiled. "That's a lovely name for him."_

"_Sometimes when I sit here, I hope that he will come to the surface and say hello, but I think he's too shy."_

"_I know how he feels" I said softly._

"_Yes, you are rather shy, but you are very brave. There is a big difference, you know." My cheeks reddened as Luna turned to face me. "I think you might have gotten a bit of sun, perhaps we should move."_

"_No, no!" My face must be beet red now. "I like it here. I'm just a bit worried to tell you the truth. About what happens next. I've got a feeling that things are going to become a lot worse. I just don't know if I'm ready."_

"_I don't think anyone really is, but when the time comes you will be, I know it!" she said as she lay back down on the ground. "Now in the mean time, I think I've just spotted a cloud shaped like Odysseus with roller skates on."_

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"THAT'S IT! I'M COMING UP THERE!"

Merlin! What is the matter with me? "No need Gran! I'm on my way!" I shouted as I quickly stowed away Luna's card and an extra pair of socks into my school trunk, latched it shut and grabbed my Mimbulus mimbletonia and the plants Luna gave me.

As I stepped out of my bedroom, Gran was waiting impatiently at the bottom of the stairs. "What took you so long?"

"Er, I got distracted."

"No time for distractions!" she said in her booming voice. "We've got to get a move on. Come on then!"

"Alright, alright!" I said, trying my best to grab my trunk whilst holding the two potted plants in my arms as well, but as I came to the top of the staircase, Luna's flower pot was starting to slip out of my grip, so I let go of my trunk which then cascaded down the stairs and barreled towards Gran.

"Ahh!" she screamed. "PROTEGO!"

The trunk stopped immediately in its tracks, narrowly missing landing on Gran's toes. Had she waited just a millisecond longer to react, the trunk would have knocked her clean off her feet.

"Gran!" I shouted frantically as I ran down the steps. "Are you all right?"

"Of course I am you nitwit! Come on now, take your things and let's go" She said walking to the front door.

I attempted to pick up my trunk again with the plants still in my arms, when Gran turned around and said. "What's the matter with you boy? I think it has been long since we have established that you are not a squib."

"Oh yeah... right." I keep forgetting that I am able to use magic outside of school now. Gran just rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath as she headed out the door. "_Locomotor_ trunk!" I said, so the trunk would follow me where I went.

_Well... I guess this is it then_, I thought as I stood in the doorway. I've been dreading this day for weeks now. The only thing that has been keeping me going is that memory of sitting with Luna by the Black Lake, the day of Dumbledore's funeral. It's probably the last happy memory I will ever have at Hogwarts. I should have told her what I had been meaning to tell her for the longest time. I had many chances when I saw her, but me being the stupid bumbling idiot that I am, I kept it to myself. _But now it's too late. That was then, and this is now, and now... there's no time for anything._

Crap. "Oh wait! I forgot Trevor!"

" He's right here!" Gran shouted. "He just hopped out of the garden. Honestly boy, you need to take better care of your pet!"

"I know." I said, embarrassed. I stepped back into the house, and hollered "_Accio_ cage!" and Trevor's cage came flying out of the open door of my room and into my arms.

"Well, there's no turning back now." I sighed, and shut the door behind me, prepared to face whatever will be thrown at me.

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_**And now I know I'm on my own **__**  
**__**And on and on and on the feeling grows**_

_**-Neon Black (Candy Coated Killahzs)**_

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**A/N: Thank you so much to Knockturn Seller and Vivien Lestrange for those lovely reviews! They really made my day! I can only hope that the rest of this story will live up to your expectations. When I wrote this chapter about a year and a half ago, I had decided to put song lyrics at the beginning and end of each chapter that reflect what Neville is going through (you can tell around what time I wrote it based on the out of date music :P), and I think I am going to continue to do so. I thought it would be nice to just set the mood. Let me know what you think in the reviews! :)**


	3. Chapter 2: Unpleasant Beginnings

**Ch. 2: Unpleasant Beginnings**

_**Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**_

_**-Second Chance (Shinedown)**_

_**Neville **_

Stepping onto the platform, the scene in front of me was a lot worse than I expected. There was no frenzy of people running around, laughing, hugging, and saying their final goodbyes to their loved ones before embarking for another magical year at Hogwarts. There was only scared-looking students with a few of their family members, all standing in one line to get onto the train.

"Oh my," Gran exclaimed, and then said angrily "Well, the Ministry sure knows how to terrify young children on their first day of school, don't they?"

I just couldn't say anything. If the rumours were true of what is going on at the Ministry, than I have a pretty strong hunch as to why everyone was lined up. Or maybe they're stupid enough to think that they actually might nab Harry here at King's Cross. I smirked at the thought of that. As if he would turn up in broad daylight, surrounded by people ready to pounce on him only a few weeks after a 10 000 galleon reward was placed on his head. Knowing Harry, he's probably off somewhere doing something important.

Of course, it didn't take me long to spot Ginny with her mother at the end of the line. Mrs. Weasley was standing next to her, one arm wrapped tightly around her daughter's shoulders as they stared at the backs of the people in front of them. It took me a moment to realize what was missing in this picture. Where is Ron? Could he be off with Harry somewhere?

I walked over with my two flower pots in hand, and my trunk and Trevor in toe behind me. When I reached the end of the line, I leaned in and whispered "Hey Ginny!"

I startled her. "Neville!" she said, wrapping her arms around my neck in a hug while I stood awkwardly with my plants. When she released, she asked, "Is your toad supposed to be in that empty cage?"

I turned around, and sure enough, Trevor's empty cage was on top of my trunk. I had a moment of panic, and looked around, but saw that Gran was walking towards me with a stern look on her face and Trevor grasped in her hands.

"Neville Longbottom, keep an eye on that toad of yours! He'll be gone before you reach Hogwarts."

"Sorry Gran! I mustn't have closed the latch properly."

"Well go on, put him back in! He's been squirming in these old, withered hands long enough."

"Yes Gran," I sighed.

"Honestly boy, I ought to smack some sense into you."

The colour quickly rose in my cheeks. To avoid any more humiliation, I set down my plants, took the wriggling Trevor from Gran's hands, and put him in his cage, being sure that it was in fact locked this time.

As I picked up both my plants off the ground, I heard Gran saying, "Ah, you were there at the Ministry that night two years ago, fighting alongside my grandson!"

"Yes," Ginny smiled lightly, "I'm Ginny Weasley."

"And this is her mother, Mrs. Weasley," I said.

"Yes, I gathered that," said Gran, rolling her eyes for the second time today.

"Please, call me Molly." Mrs Weasley said smiling and then extending her arm towards Gran, despite the complete look of exhaustion she had on her face.

"Augusta Longbottom," Gran greeted Mrs. Weasley and shook her hand gently.

"I knew your son very well," Mrs. Weasley continued, "He was a great man."

"Is," Gran corrected.

"Yes, yes..." she responded, sounding very tired.

"Mrs. Weasley," I asked, "Is Ron alright?"

"Not exactly," Mrs. Weasley said with an almost fearful look in her eyes. "I'm afraid he's got a case of... spattergoit," she said closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Gran said. "Spattergoit is such a terrible disease. My uncle had a right awful case of it when he was young, according to my mother, but it cleared up eventually."

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley answered, with tears trickling down from her shut eyes. "All that we can hope for is that he'll make a full recovery."

"I hope so too, dear," Gran said sympathetically.

Mrs. Weasley nodded. She then turned towards Ginny and said sadly, "Well, I best be going dear. I should get back to... Ron."

"I know Mum," Ginny said, giving her a big hug.

Mrs. Weasley wiped the tears from her eyes and said "it was nice seeing you Neville dear. Good luck."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley," I said, struggling to hold onto my plants. Luna's flowers were starting to slip from my grasp. Mrs. Weasley noticed and suggested that I try shrinking them. Then, she gave her daughter one final kiss goodbye and said, "Never in my entire life did I ever imagine I would have to say this, but... don't worry, you're a pure blood."

Ginny nodded and said "I love you mummy."

"Love you too," said Mrs. Weasley, trying to contain her sobs. She added, "It was nice to finally meet you Mrs. Longbottom," before turning and walking to the end of the platform.

Following her advice, I pointed my wand at the two flower pots on the ground and said "_reducio!" _ Now they were about the size of apples, so I just shoved one in each of the pockets of my trousers. After that, I quickly looked at all of the people in front of us and asked, "Is this what I think it is?"

"Blood status inquiry," Ginny replied, rubbing her eyes.

"This is ludicrous! Never in all my years have I seen something so outrageous," Gran said furiously.

No sooner had she said that, a scream emanated from the front of the line. A girl and her mother were being dragged off by two officials, kicking and screaming.

I turned to Ginny. She looked very pale. "That's Holly. She's a Hufflepuff in my year. I heard that the Ministry has been looking for her uncle to ask him some questions. She always comes to the station with her little cousin Kelly, but I don't see her anywhere..."

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For several minutes after the incident, Ginny, Gran and I had been shuffling forward as the line slowly progressed. Now there were only a couple of families left ahead of us, so Gran and I decided to part ways. I told her that I would be fine and that I love her. All she did was place her hand on my cheek and said, "Remember you are your father's son." Then she left. Once again, I found myself blushing today because of Gran.

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"Present your wands," a man with a long scroll of parchment commanded. Ginny and I immediately handed over our wands to the two standing on either side of him. They quickly inspected them and then handed them back to the man with the parchment.

"Names?"

"Ginevra Weasley."

"N-Neville Longbottom," I stuttered.

"Longbottom, huh? Is it your parents who are locked up in the loony bin? " the man sniggered. My stomach lurched.

"Yeah, how is mom and dad?" interjected the man on his right. "Got someone to wipe the drool off their chins now, do they?" he laughed.

Anger rose within me, and before I knew it, Ginny's hand was on my chest, restraining me from tackling the man in front of her. "No Nev... it's not worth it," she said quietly.

"Your girlfriend's right, boy. It would be a shame if Hogwarts were to lose another student today. Now move along now," he said, thrusting our wands back at us, "you're both clear."

I turned to go onto the train, but the official grabbed my shoulder.

"Do be careful, we wouldn't want you to get hurt now, would we?" he smiled maliciously.

I stared at him for a moment, then muttered, "_locomotor _trunk!" and stormed off towards the train while the man shouted, "Do say hello to mum and dad for us!"

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"Bunch of bloody wankers," Ginny mumbled angrily.

"Ginny! You have as foul a mouth as Seamus!" I joked.

"When you live with Fred and George, you pick up a few colourful words here and there," she grinned. "All of these compartments are full, should we try the back?"

"Sure."

We walked to the other end of the train in search of a compartment, hoping that we might find Luna in one of them. The annoying thing about being one of the last people to get on the train is that most compartments are already taken and in effect, limits your chances of finding a vacant compartment.

Ginny looked left and right into each one we passed. "Luna's got to be in one of these compartments. She's probably been waiting for us."

I smiled at that. Good old Luna. Despite all her eccentricities, she is extremely loyal, and really is an all around lovely girl. People only ever seem to see the strange side of her, but she is quite a perceptive, intelligent and insightful person. She sees the good in everything and everyone, and that's what makes her such an amazing friend. I'm very lucky that I have her and Ginny, let alone, any friends at all. They both seem to be able to see something in me that I don't, and I still have no idea what that is.

Eventually we found Luna sitting in a compartment near the very end of the train, but she wasn't alone. Across from her was Seamus, who was staring out the window. Luna was absorbed in an article of the Quibbler. Neither of them seemed to notice when Ginny and I entered the compartment.

"Hello Luna! And hi Seamus ," Ginny said, happy to see them. Seamus turned his head at the sound of his name.

"Hello Ginny. It's good to see you," Luna said looking up from her magazine. "Hello Neville."

"Hi Luna," I tried to say cooly. I then put Trevor's cage on the seat opposite of her and pulled out the two miniature flower pots from my pocket.

" I see you've brought the moly and fluxweed with you," she noticed. "It's funny though, I don't remember them being that small when I gave them to you."

"Oh no, I just shrunk them so that they would be easier to carry," I said sitting down next to Seamus and put the two pots next to Trevor.

"How are you Seamus?" I asked.

"I'm fine. And you?"

"Never better," I chuckled sarcastically.

Seamus smiled weakly, the same ghost of a smile that you tend to see on people these days.

"Have you seen Dean yet?"

"No, I don't think he'll be coming back this year," he said looking down at Ginny's feet in front of him.

"That's a shame..." I said realizing my mistake. I don't imagine there would be any proof that his father was in fact a wizard after he was supposedly murdered by the Death Eaters before Dean was born. I didn't push the matter further, and I too stared at the floor in front of me.

Luna was in deep conversation about something called Morphish-Gurgle slugs with Ginny.

"Yes, they're rather annoying creatures. They have a particular taste for our dirigible plums. Dad and I have been finding half eaten ones all over the place out back. There's an article about it here in the newest edition of the Quibbler. Would you care to read it?"

"Sure," Ginny said kindly.

Luna passed a copy of the Quibbler that she had in her hands to Ginny, and as she did so, I noticed a name on the cover page. The Wizarding World's Most Wanted himself, Harry Potter.

"Your father wrote about Harry?"

"Yes," Luna said smiling, "Dad says the prophet is only filled with lies and propaganda these days and that people deserve to know the truth. That Harry is innocent and needs our support."

Ginny immediately flipped the pages of the magazine to Mr. Lovegood's article on Harry and quickly scanned the page. "Your dad could probably get into a lot of trouble for this if he gets caught," she said slightly concerned, although I think we all were impressed by what Mr. Lovegood was doing.

"Dad says the most important thing to do at a time like this is to present the public with the truth. We need to convince everyone to stay on Harry's side and fight with him. Besides, I don't think any people at the Ministry actually read the Quibbler. Most people are closed minded that way."

"That is very brave of him," Ginny said.

"My father is very brave. Once he stumbled upon a giant mountain troll on one of his trips to Sweden on his own, and he took it down all in one spell, without even hurting the poor thing, and managed to escape unscathed."

"Wow!" I said, probably sounding a little more fascinated than I should. I think I caught Ginny giving me a funny look.

"So what do you suppose he's doing?" Seamus interjected, sounding much more interested in the conversation than he did before. "Harry, I mean."

"Dunno," I said.

"Actually, there's something that I probably should tell you all," Ginny said a little softly.

"What is it Ginny?" Luna asked, but at that very moment the train came to a screeching halt.

"What's going on?" Seamus reacted.

"Dunno," I said, slightly rattled. "Let's find out, shall we?"

No sooner had I reached the door, a man wearing black robes walked in the compartment with two other men behind him and scanned each of our faces. _This is absolutely ridiculous_, I thought.

"Hey, losers! He isn't here."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_**Here is my chance,**_

_**This is my chance.**_

_**-Second Chance (Shinedown)**_

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone! Did you all get your Hogwarts acceptance letters today? Sadly mine got lost in the mail AGAIN, but I'm sure it will come soon enough so I too can start my seventh year at Hogwarts.**

** So we've reached the end of all my pre-written chapters, so that means I need to head back to writing! :) I will do my best to try and get another chapter out as fast as I can, but that may only be in 2-3 weeks. I'm sorry if that's a long wait, and I know how aggravating it can be when fanfiction authors take forever to upload new chapters, but I just started my first year of college and it's going to be hard managing all my school work, so please bear with me! **

**Thank you so much Cuthbert72 for making me feel better about the out of date tunes! Oldies are the best :D and I will try my hardest to get another chapter out soon enough, but I don't want to make any promises right now that I can't keep. And thank you everyone who has read my story so far! Please tell me how you're liking it in a review, and I'll do what I can to improve! :)**


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